We will all learn to live with this illness, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, that is in one of us.
I hope to share the journey with others and to make a difference along the way.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Be sweet.....

And time goes by, everything on the leukemia front with Steven doing so much better..... its like someone threw oil on stormy water and ....... well, you get the picture.

Because my life was very tied into staying on top of, and in touch with everything leukemia, this leaves a fair sized hole in my mind. Even though Steven's tests have been great for a long time now and I have slowly spent much less time being 'freaky' for the past few years already, I still find that I really have to make a sincere effort to fill my mind, to stimulate my brain, to move forward and know that it will all work out exactly the way its meant to. I need to work hard at being creative, to enjoy things without the fear of that potentially 'coiled snake' waiting to turn my life upside down again.

So much of this past month I have thought of those who have lost someone they love.... To get up and move on has got to be so incredibly difficult. At times its got to seem easier just to sit and not cope at all, to not get on with life, to literally just stop. And that pain is endless. How does one do it? Especially those that have put their days and nights into a hands on situation of caring for someone, whose days were literally filled with that person. That adjustment must be huge. Beyond huge, as it covers every aspect of every day. I don't believe that anyone can prepare fore a person dying, you cannot prepared for that hole in your day, the loss and the extra time on your hands....... no matter how much you know its going to happen, or hope that it wont.

One blog that I read really got me thinking about all this... The 14 year old son passed away and from what it looks like, some family of mom are being critical of how she has dealt with his illness and how she still is. Wow..... that really is beyond understanding. She, and the rest of the family, are absolutely entitled to grieve in any way they want to without someone who has not walked their path, saying how they should.

So..... if you know anyone that has lost someone and is bending in the darkness, at a total loss about how to cope, or even dealing with it in a way you don't understand, please be kind to them, be sweet, fill a few minutes of their day with them, let them talk about the person that is no longer with them, ask them about the pain they felt and still feel. Just never ever tell them how to grieve, how to feel or how to act while they are coping with this pain.

And be thankful for the days that you do have with those you love. Always.

2 comments:

Annie,Very well written, people sometimes forget that everyone grieves differently. My neighbor passed away a few weeks ago, he was 89 and when my wife went over to visit with his wife she mentioned that she hadn't cried for him yet. She had mentioned that for her since his health has been poor for some time that she more or less has already cried for him when he was still alive. One of my neighbors children was just horrible to her and for no reason. Like you said, everyone reacts to death differently and there is no right way or wrong way. It would be nice if people would realize this a little more often.

What I try to remind myself of is that until you have walked in someone else's shoes and experienced what they've experienced, you shouldn't comment. I can not imagine the horror of losing someone. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. We all need to pull together to support people in their loss and allow them to grieve as they choose. I imagine that criticism and judgement make it that much worse.

Life

About Me

This blog is from my point of
view as a mom with an adult
child who has cancer.
In no way do I mean to take away
from what he, or anyone else is
going through. These are purely
my thoughts and feelings at the
time of writing and in no way
suggest treatment options nor do
they offer advice in any way.
This is my way of strengthening
myself, which in turn will
strengthen Steven too.